Thirty-six days after Afeez Baruwa allegedly raped an admission-seeker in the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the institution authorities have maintained a long silence, fueling the suspicion that it is covering something.
Questions as to why it is taking the institution panel of investigators so long to disclose whether or not Baruwa is one of them, and if not, how he gained access into its office, has remained a mystery.
Head of Information Unit, University of Lagos, Olagoke Oke, told TheNiche that the four-man panel set up by the university to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape would submit its report last week.
“The university panel is still working on the issue, and once the report is ready by this week, I will make it available to the public,” Oke said. But it did not happen.
Baruwa was alleged to have defiled an 18-year-old ‘jambite’ in one of the offices in UNILAG.
The university swiftly disowned the lecturer as not a member of staff. “He also does not belong to the part-time or full-time teaching staff of the school. His name is not on the master list of workers of the university. I have checked the staff list using his full name and initials and could not come up with any such name,” Oke had said.
Though UNILAG disowned Baruwa, many believe that the university is being economical with the truth. And the delay in making the report of its panel public has further reinforced the suspicion.
On how Baruwa raped her, the victim had alleged: “When we got to his office, it was about 6.30am. The offices in the building were deserted. He said he liked to be early to avoid traffic. He told me to sit on the couch in his office. I noticed he was restless; he would stand and go outside. He asked me if I wanted anything. I told him I was fine. He put on television; I told him I was okay. He put on the air conditioner and I told him I did not want that.”
She added: “A moment later, he told me to pick up a paper for him beside the couch. As I bent down to pick up the paper, he pushed me in a corner of the couch and held me down as he forcibly removed my trousers and underwear.”
She claimed to have screamed, but that the way he held her down asphyxiated her voice.
Baruwa claimed it was consensual, a matter to be determined by the court.